Some market watchers were scratching their heads at the big upside price moves in gold and silver markets Wednesday. What was the main driving force for the strong prices gains? Was it the depreciation of the U.S. dollar index this week? Was it a re-examination of the U.S. consumer price index report that may not be as indicative of problematic inflation as initially thought? Or, was it a high-volatility day in the U.S. stock indexes Wednesday that rekindled notions the stock market still has some rough days ahead, which produced some safe-haven demand for gold? Likely, it was all of the above factors that contributed in varying degrees to the rally in the precious metals markets today. The surprising gains in gold and silver triggered pre-placed buy stop orders in their futures markets, which sent prices even higher during the trading session. Also, the weak-handed shorts in the futures markets were forced to cover their bets Wednesday, pushing prices still higher. What’s more important is where gold and silver prices are headed from here. With Wednesday’s infusion of needed technical strength in the metals, more gains are likely in the near term, if not longer. Gold’s next upside near-term target is the January high of $1,370.50. Gold’s next longer-term upside price objective is the 2016 high of $1,377.50. Silver’s next upside technical target is the January high of $17.555. Silver’s longer-term upside objective is $18.64. All of these price targets are now within striking distance in the coming days, or few weeks. Stay tuned!